Duchene was injured on Monday night against Calgary during a 9-1 drubbing at the hands of the Flames. Injuries have been a horrible way of life this season for Colorado as they’ve missed 280 man-games thanks to injuries, a mark that puts them at the top of the Western Conference and third overall in the NHL.

Injuries to players like Chris Stewart, Peter Mueller, T.J. Galiardi and Tomas Fleischmann hampered their offense while losses to Kyle Quincey and Kyle Cumiskey have slowed down their defense. Fleischmann and Quincey are both out for the season. Making matters worse for Colorado is that the miraculous goaltending they got last year from Craig Anderson has evaporated completely as the Avs have allowed the most goals in the league this year.

We hate writing off any teams especially with 25 games left to play in the season but the Avs are 10 points behind Calgary for the eighth spot in the West and sit 14th in the conference. The fat lady might not be singing in Denver, but she’s warming up off stage after this announcement.